Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The sun sat low behind the palace’s towering white spires as I stood in the courtyard amidst the throng of nobles. An occasional murmur whispered through the silence but nothing more. Their collective fear and anger grew thicker around me, adding to the increasing tingle of danger.
Ahead, the loop of a single rope swayed on the gallows.
The queen, her representatives, and Pogwid had yet to appear. However, no one voiced a complaint. We simply waited.
Beside me, Philip conveyed the picture of calm nobility, despite the concern he’d expressed on the way here about the required attendance of the nobles. Usually, such a thing was done to set an example, but he wasn’t certain what example was being set. Did the queen know that a noble had been hiding Pogwid under her nose? Was she sending a message to nobles to turn their casters in? Or had she learned the royal heirs had returned?
To our right, a door set in the courtyard’s white stone wall opened. A procession of people filed out. Pogwid walked in their midst. Hands and feet bound, she moved with her head high and a good deal of defiance in her expression.
It wasn’t until she reached the gallows and stood above us that I saw the blood staining her dress and the wraps on her hands. My gut clenched in horror at what they’d done.
They’d taken her fingers. Or at least some of them.
The ever-present tingle of warning, which I’d grown accustomed to over the last few days, exploded within me.
A figure swathed in an embroidered red veil regally joined a man on the platform behind Pogwid. I could feel her—a pulse of energy that demanded an answer—her anger, her hate.
I checked the lid on my well. It was as close to closed as I dared.
“People of Turre,” the man called out. “Caster Pogwid stands before you, accused of treason against the crown.”
“HA!” Pogwid barked.
A garbled string of sounds spilled from her mouth, and I realized they’d taken her tongue. Mere hours had passed since I saw Henry’s mentor. How had they done so much to her in such a span of time? Fear started to boil under the lid as I thought of Edmund and Brandle…taken for their handsome faces. Would they fare differently than Pogwid?
I looked at the woman who’d helped me and swallowed hard.
Me. I’d caused this .
My gaze shifted to the queen. My hand trembled against Philip’s arm.
No. Not me. The queen.
I could feel her regard sweeping the crowd, searching. She suspected…something. It was buried deep. To find it, I would need to touch my power to hers.
Too dangerous.
Yet, my fear for Brandle and Edmund had me considering it. If she’d handled Pogwid to this extent simply for being a strong caster, what would she do if she thought Brandle and Edmund were the princes?
Philip’s hand closed over mine and patted it lightly.
He was terrified that I would do something to give us away. He didn’t fear his death but mine. Brandle had impressed my importance upon the man.
“The sentence for treason is death by hanging. Save yourself, caster Pogwid, and beg our Queen for mercy. She is Fair.”
Pogwid barked another laugh and tried to say more. The queen’s rage grew. Pogwid was purposely provoking her. Why? What did she hope to gain? A quicker death?
With barely a thought, I coaxed a sudden breeze that swept up the queen’s person, intent on distracting her so I could touch my power to Pogwid’s. However, the moment the veil lifted enough to see the queen’s face, I understood.
The queen had attempted to take Pogwid’s power, and the spell I’d cast on Pogwid had worked. Boils and blisters covered the queen’s face.
The queen flattened the veil against her face, but the damage had been done. She knew the crowd had seen. Her rage boiled over, and her power burst out like a whip. It demanded subjugation. Philip’s legs began to buckle along with everyone else in attendance, and I quickly fell to my knees beside him as if also under the queen’s control.
“Wretches! Knaves!”
Pogwid’s mad laughter redirected the queen’s ire from the crowd to her.
“I have given you more lenience than you deserve,” the queen said.
Lenience? She’d cut away pieces of Pogwid because she’d been unable to take her power. My anger boiled brightly, and I focused on the queen. Power pulsed around her but not from within her. Casting stones. She wore them all over her body. Stones to hold power that wasn’t her own.
The larger the stone, the more power it held.
I opened my senses to the stones, feeling them like I felt the fear in the people around me. Three of the larger ones were imperfect. Fissures ran through them, large enough for an accumulation of water.
It gathered in the small space, and I thought of the deep chill of winter.
Vividly colored sparks burst out from her wrist and neck, and likely her thigh, though that one was hidden by her dress. The multicolored dust floated around the queen, whose disbelief robbed her of her rage for a moment.
Yet, that was all it took.
Pogwid breathed deeply, and I watched the dust flying toward her.
The queen’s hand whipped out, but it was too late.
The power sank into Pogwid.
I touched my energy to Pogwid’s and felt her brief resistance before she recognized my power. The spell I’d cast had worked. She didn’t remember me, but at the familiarity of my touch, she understood what had happened—that I was the reason she couldn’t remember and that it was important for her to protect me and the kingdom. So, she let me see what she had since our last parting as the ropes fell away from her hands, and she healed her own tongue.
“Hear the truth,” Pogwid yelled.
“No!” The queen howled. “You used it! You used it all.”
“You desire power above all else, and I will gladly destroy all that I am to stop you from taking even a small measure of my power,” Pogwid said as I was still connected.
She nimbly stepped onto the stool in front of her and threaded her head through the loop.
“For the kingdom!” she yelled.
I felt her farewell and her plea not to intercede as she stepped off. In her heart, she knew I wasn’t yet ready to face the queen. If I had been, we would have already faced the queen together.
Gripping Philip’s arm, I willed myself not to feel —to keep everything contained—as Pogwid’s energy winked out in an instant.
She was gone. The most powerful caster I knew was gone. Our hope to fight the queen and free Edmund and Brandle…
My need for Liam clawed at me. My anchor. My safety.
The queen visibly calmed and smoothed her hands down her skirt. She didn’t feel calm, though. She wanted to make someone bleed. However, the person she wished to vent her ire on was dead.
Needlessly… Uselessly… While I watched and did nothing .
The hold on my thin control began to fracture.
“Let this be a message to all my people. Defy me and die,” the queen said.
She swept off the gallows, turning her back on Pogwid, who swung like a pendulum in the light breeze as if the loss of her life didn’t matter.
Inside of me, a long, thin line of sorrow split through the wall of my well.
The earth beneath us trembled just before the queen retreated within the white stone of the castle.
The strain to keep myself together continued even as the tingle under my skin eased. I couldn’t lose control. Not here. Not amidst so many who would be injured.
I needed Liam. Desperately.
“Come,” Philip said, helping me to my feet. “You look unwell.”
I couldn’t respond but did hear several people call his name. He ignored them all as he led me out of the courtyard and to the waiting carriage.
The moment Liam’s hand closed around mine to assist me into the carriage, I knew I wouldn’t last much longer.
“I need you,” I said softly.
He nodded once and looked at Philip.
“Quickly,” Liam said.
Philip joined me in the carriage and thumped on the roof.
The carriage jolted, and I leaned heavily into my seat. I fisted my hands and attempted to focus on the sound of the wheels rattling over the cobblestone or how my teeth chattered together because of the rough jostling. But it didn’t work. Another fracture reverberated through me.
I flew forward as the carriage came to an abrupt stop, and I would have fallen to the floor if not for Philip’s quick reflexes.
The door opened, and Liam climbed in, lifting me onto his lap.
Philip hit the roof again as Liam buried his fingers in my hair and pressed his forehead to mine.
“Tell me what you need,” he said.
“Kiss me.”
He did. Tenderly. Sweetly. His love and devotion wrapped around me, soothing some of my anguish. His desire filled me, becoming my own. I gratefully took what he offered and let it anchor and calm the storm within me.
When he pulled away, tears ran down my cheeks.
“Forgive me, my love,” he said.
“For what?”
“For not trying to lock you in a room.”
I made a pained sound and kissed him more deeply, loving that he understood me so well to see my regret but not berate me for my choices.
When we broke apart the second time, he pressed me to his chest and simply held me as my racing pulse calmed. The remaining distance to Philip’s home passed in silence.
When we arrived, the driver jumped down to open the carriage door and didn’t register even a moment of shock when Liam swept me into his arms and strode toward the front door. The butler opened it before we reached it.
“Take her to the sitting room,” Philip called from behind us. “I’ll have the cook brew some medicinal tea.”
The sitting room wasn’t as empty as we’d left it.
Darian shot to his feet when Liam entered with me in his arms.
“What’s wrong? Is she hurt?” he demanded.
Daemon was a second behind his brother in reaching for me.
“She is not hurt,” I said, answering for myself. “She is very angry.”
Liam surrendered me to Darian, who settled onto the lounge with me on his lap. Daemon picked up my feet and removed my shoes. I exhaled heavily, focusing on their love rather than the hate that still bubbled inside of me.
“When I left Pogwid this morning, I cast a spell to protect her should the queen attempt to take her powers. It worked. The purpose of the public hanging was to find the caster and anyone else who’d helped Pogwid evade the queen’s reach.
“The queen took Pogwid’s fingers one by one to make her speak. Then she took Pogwid’s tongue because that bold, abrasive woman dared speak of nothing but the vile crimes the queen had committed. In an attempt to find Pogwid’s supporters, the queen left Pogwid’s eyes so she would look to those who helped her before the moment of her death.”
“Thus, the public hanging,” Liam said.
I nodded and felt more tears rain down my cheeks.
“I wanted to help her, but she said I couldn’t. That the queen was too powerful and that I would risk all of you to do so.”
“She said that?” Liam said.
“Not aloud. When I was connected with her.”
“My poor Lamb,” Daemon said, rubbing my feet soothingly.
“Did the queen know you connected with her?” Garron asked.
“No. She was too focused on the three of her casting stones that had shattered and how Pogwid and taken their power to heal her tongue so she could speak. It was a warning to other casters to choose death rather than allow the queen to take their power.”
Liam paused his pacing before the hearth when Philip entered with a tray.
“Have you received responses for tonight?” Liam asked.
“I have. Everyone will attend.”
“Even after what happened?” I asked.
“Because of what happened,” Philip said. “The queen has never lost control like that before. The state of her face, which she has always shown, proved she is not infallible. As did the way Pogwid shattered her casting stones.”
I didn’t correct him.
“What of the woodcutter?” I asked Garron. “Did he return home?”
“He did. But with no memory of us. There was nothing I could do for the cobbler, who likely saw us leaving as well.”
I opened my senses and felt the people still waiting for us at our home. The cobbler was no longer in the back room, and I doubted that the people standing near the door were him.
“I believe he’s already been taken,” I said. My gaze went to Darian and Daemon. “I’m sorry I lost control this morning.”
Darian shook his head. “Your loss of control this morning isn’t a problem. You didn’t hurt anyone. The queen did.”
The others nodded.
“We’ll find a way to get Edmund and Brandle back,” Daemon said.
Yet, I felt his doubt. His brothers nurtured the same seed of disbelief, though they tried to hide it.
“How many nobles are attending tonight?” I asked.
“Twelve,” Philip said. “I’ve prepared the invitations for tomorrow as well if your highnesses would care to review them.”
Garron shook his head. “The names won’t indicate the loyalty of the noble. Only the person will do that. Invite as you see fit.”
“Very good, Your Highness,” Philip said. “Guests should arrive within the hour.”
I looked at the darkening window and felt a stirring of trepidation that had nothing to do with the now calmer tingle of warning under my skin.
“Can we agree that I will only be introduced as Philip’s niece during these meetings?” I asked, briefly meeting the gazes of each of my five men. “I feel no shame in my relationship with all of you. However, others may not feel the same, and I have no wish to distract those in attendance from what is most urgent.
“The queen will not sit idly now that she knows someone with power, whether with magic or influence, has helped Pogwid evade her grasp. She will expend more of her power to search for Pogwid's supporters in the coming days. We need to meet with the other casters quickly for the sake of the people and Edmund and Brandle.”
Liam slowly nodded. “Although I have no wish to hide what you mean to us, I believe you’re right.”
I turned toward Philip. “People are often caught in the web of their own lies. The less we say about me, the better. Your niece with a modest aptitude for casting should suffice.”
“Yes, Princess,” he said. “If you would care to change, I can show you to your room.”
“No need for that,” Darian said, standing with me in his arms. “We’ll show her.”
Philip nodded in agreement and retreated as Darian took several steps toward the door.
“Please allow me to use my own feet,” I said.
“Aw, Lamb. You already stole our hearts. Must you steal our joy too?”
I looked over Darian’s shoulder at Daemon and rolled my eyes at him.
“If I concede to your every wish, I would never leave my room.”
He laughed. Darian eased me to my feet but didn’t surrender his hold. He looped my hand around his arm and escorted me in a proper fashion.
Philip’s home was larger than anything I’d ever visited. It boasted twelve guest rooms in a separate wing from the main house. The grandeur spoke of a familial wealth with which I wasn’t familiar, and I briefly wondered if my mother had lived in such a home and why she’d left it.
Mother had rarely spoken of her family, only answering questions when directly asked. I only knew the name of my grandparents and my aunt from my father, divulged after I’d vowed never to tell Eloise, who we’d both known would approach the pair more so out of curiosity than desire to establish a relationship.
“You’re quiet,” Garron said.
I realized we were standing in the center of a large bedroom. A dress waited, neatly laid out on the bed. Margret stood off to the side, her head bowed.
“Distracted by thoughts of my family,” I said.
“Are you worried for Eloise?”
“Always, but it was thoughts of my mother. I wondered if, as a noblewoman, she would have been more at ease here than I am.”
Margret’s head lifted briefly in shock. “If you would prefer a different?—”
“The room and dress are beautiful,” I said. “Please extend my appreciation to Philip. I simply miss my home.”
Understanding lit her gaze as she nodded and retreated from the room, leaving me alone with Garron, Darian, and Daemon.
“Where are Eadric and Liam?” I asked.
“Speaking with Philip. They wished to ask more questions about the hanging without upsetting you.”
I frowned. Daemon reached out and tapped the bridge of my nose.
“You are not fragile, we know. But your tears break our hearts. We would prefer not to cause more of them.”
“But when I’m crying, someone can cuddle me. Isn’t that a fair trade?”
Darian laughed. “She makes a point.”
“More importantly, I don’t like being excluded, and I know more than Philip. He only saw with his eyes. I didn’t. The warning I’ve felt growing under my skin is related to the queen. I felt it the moment she appeared. I also felt her power. It pulsed around her, but not from within her. At least, nothing significant did. Her power is in the casting crystals she has, which is why I shattered three of them.”
“You what?” Garron asked.
I knew it wasn’t truly a question but an utterance due to shock.
“I was barely in control, Garron. In my mind, doing nothing wasn’t an option. The queen couldn’t touch Pogwid’s power. Neither could Pogwid. Breaking the stones gave Pogwid the power she needed to speak out and make her choice clear.” I fisted my hands in my skirts so they wouldn’t see how angry I still felt. “Death was better than surrendering even an ounce of her power to the queen, and I understand why. The queen carries so much already. The three casting stones I broke are merely a drop in the power she possesses.”
Darian and Daemon exchanged troubled glances.
“It would be wise not to speak of that to the casters we meet,” Garron said.
I scoffed. “Wise? No, it would be a mistake to hide it.”
“Kellen, they?—”
“Won’t join us if they know the true risk?” I finished. “Then we tell them the risk of remaining hidden. The queen knows, Garron. She knows someone powerful is out there because of today. Pogwid’s willingness to sacrifice herself only proved to the queen that powerful adversaries are lurking, waiting for a moment of her weakness. What do you think she will do as a power-hungry ruler who fears being overthrown?”
Garron tiredly rubbed his brow.
“We will impress upon them all the reality of their situation,” I said firmly. “Secrets never unite people.”
“Yet you’re being introduced as Philip’s niece,” Daemon said.
It annoyed me that he was right. “Then we reveal the truth as soon as possible, so long as it doesn’t distract from our goals.”
“Claiming you as our own is our goal,” Darian said.
“Yes, yes,” I said impatiently. “Once our other goals are met.”
I felt the surge of their collective fear and wanted to stomp my foot. Instead, I turned toward Darian.
“Help me undress.”
He deftly disrobed me within moments and trailed his fingers over my bare shoulders.
“Your shift appears dirty, too,” he said, his voice soft.
I understood their need to distract themselves from the mess I’d made of their return. They didn’t blame me, and I knew blaming myself would change nothing. So, instead, I gave myself over to what they needed.
Me.
“I believe you’re correct,” I said.
Daemon swept the shift over my head from behind me. His lips pressed against the back of my neck as Darian dropped to his knees in front of me. The tender way he kissed me below the navel brought a pang to my chest.
Reaching back, I tangled my fingers in the hair at the nape of Daemon’s neck while also running my fingers through Darian’s hair as his sweet kisses trailed lower. Darian’s hand teased the skin behind my knees a moment before he gripped one and lifted it over his shoulder.
My head lolled to the side, giving Daemon access as he nibbled my skin. Their desire wove a spell of its own on me. I forgot everything and simply felt them. Their need for me. To love me. To care for me. To hold me and make me their own.
Darian’s tongue toyed with me until I shook.
“The bed,” he said against me.